News

YOU can make a difference to local youngsters and communities

Release Date: 11-Nov-2013

A project that aims to give local young people skills, experience and confidence has been shortlisted for a Lottery grant – and YOU can help make sure it gets off the ground by voting for it in the People’s Millions competition.

Children from Fieldhead school were among those who took part in the filming of the TV advert

The Peoples Millions is an annual TV competition run by Big Lottery Fund and ITV which awards Lottery funding to community projects that will improve the lives of local people. This year there are four awards of up to £50,000 on offer in each of the 19 ITV regional news areas across the UK.

One of the Yorkshire contenders – and the only one from Kirklees – is the Community Activator Teams project. This is the brainchild of the Communities United Project (CUP), who want to train young people and adults in sports and play leadership so that they can organise play schemes, sports events and festivals in their own communities.

Working with Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH), which manages council housing in Kirklees, CUP will be targeting local people who are unemployed, have few qualifications or who are at risk of becoming homeless. Those taking part will be able take advantage of accredited training which can lead to qualifications and they’ll also get individual mentoring and support to help them succeed.

The project has so far beaten off competition from around 600 other bids and joins a shortlist of six in the Yorkshire region. The next stage is the people’s vote on 26 November, when the project will be featured in a TV advert on Calendar News.

According to Paul Lewis, Project Director at CUP, the project could make a real difference to individuals and communities: “We’re really excited about the project and the chance we have for it to be funded through the People’s Millions.

“We’ll be making the TV advert in the next few days and that’s going to be a great chance to showcase the work that we do and the difference we can make.

“We know from past work with KNH that if we can tap into young people’s interests in sport, art, music and so on, we can get them involved in positive activities rather than negative ones.

“The CAT project takes this idea even further because we’ll be giving people the chance to gain the skills and confidence they need to support existing activities in their area or set up new ones such as sports clubs and play schemes - things that benefit the entire community.

“I really hope that people in the region will vote for our project. We’ll be asking everyone we know to spread the word, so look out for the phone number to call and our advert on 26 November. Your vote could make all the difference!”

Simon Rogers, KNH Chief Executive, said: “It’s really important that there are outlets like sports and play schemes so that young people have positive things to do with their time and energy

“We’ve worked with CUP on a number of projects in the past that have had major benefits for the young people involved as well as the areas where they live. I think the CAT project will have a lasting impact on the communities in which we work.”

Cllr Cathy Scott, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “This is a great project that will help turn lives around – not just those who take part directly, but all the youngsters who will then benefit from sports and play schemes in their communities.

“I’ll certainly be spreading the word and voting for the CAT project on 26 November and I hope lots of others will too.”

How you can help make a difference today:

• Follow the project on the People’s Millions website and show your support http://bit.ly/17eI6jH

• Follow the project on Facebook (/CUP1998) or Twitter (@CUPHuddersfield) and share with your friends

How you can help on 26 November:• The voting phone number will published on the People’s Million’s website, in the Daily Mirror and on the CUP Facebook and Twitter sites as well as many local social media sites. When you see the number, share it with all your contacts and ask them to vote.• You can vote from 9am to midnight.• Alternatively, watch the CAT advert during Calendar and vote when you see the phone number.• Up to 10 calls are allowed from each phone line.